making news in america this morning. >> big step back. with unrest still unfolding in the oil-rich middle east. its new impact on our economy. could gas prices hit $5 a gallon by summer? >> wow. and new details in the charlie sheen saga. police at his house overnight, as he becomes twitter's newest phenomenon. and a symbol of the summer of love. the vw bus gets a whole, new look. good morning, everyone. i'm mike marusarz, in for rob nelson. >> and i'm peggy bunker.

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mommar gadhafi's control over his country, continues to crumble this morning, with new pressure on his regime. >> the united states has con dechled human rights in libya. and demanding gadhafi leave office. >> and secretary of state hillary clinton says the u.s. may even prosecute gadhafi for the 1988 pan am bombing. he's suspected of personally ordering that attack. >> as the u.s. weighs military action, there's concern about the conflicts and the harmful impact they'll have on the u.s. economy. >> emily schmidt has the latest on that from washington. emily? >> reporter: in libya, change and uncertainty carries a growing cost. in the years ahead, libya could become a peaceful democracy. or it could face protractive civil war. or it could descend into chaos. the stakes are high. >> reporter: the u.n. estimates more than 1,000 people have died. libya's oil chief says production is cut in half.

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guards at one of the nation's largest oil facilities say they are not taking sides in the conflict. u.s. consumers are feeling the pinch. food prices in january rose the fastest they have since 2008. oil topped $100 a barrel yesterday. gas is up 20 cents a gallon this week. >> it's killing us. we don't go anywhere but work and home. >> we could see gasoline between $4 and $5 a gallon by memorial day. maybe sooner. >> reporter: in washington, federal reserve chairman ben bernanke said, though economic recovery is speeding up higher oil prices could be a threat. >> sustained rises in the prices of oil or other commodities would expect a threat both to economic growth and to overall price stability. >> reporter: just yesterday, general motors reported its february sales were up 49%. in fact, all of the major auto companies said they had double-digit gains. now, they are hoping that these higher gas prices don't get in

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the way of finally higher sales. mike and peggy? >> absolutely. all right. emily schmidt, live this morning from washington. thank you. now, to the weather and a preview of what could be ahead for a huge stretch of the country, floods. >> every 1 of ohio's 88 counties have been on guard, against rivers threatening to overflow. one town in northwest ohio knows the danger all too well. and barbara pinto is there. >> reporter: this river has submerged about a third of this town, leaving roads, businesses and hundreds of homes under water. the flooding has gone on for days now. a storm system combined with more melting snow. submerging cities and towns from the midwest on east. in indiana, this animal rescue fund needed a rescue of its own. >> i don't know what we would have done today if i had been sick and couldn't show up. >> reporter: this could be just the start.

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this winter's massive snowfall could make for the worst spring flooding we've seen in years in places like fargo, north dakota and st. paul minnesota. >> the snowpack is wider and a greater extent. and has more water in it than near-record levels. >> reporter: in this flat and flood-prone region few can truly look forward to spring. barbara pinto, abc news, findlay, ohio. a 30-mile stretch of i-95 in florida is open again. more than 16,000 acres have been scorched. and the blaze is considered one-quarter contained. our matt gutman got a close-up look at the aftermath. >> reporter: this fire burned so hot, it turned this entire woods into a moonscape. turned trees into cinders. now, firefighters are currently focused on protecting and saving about 300 homes still threatened. it's called the iron horse fire.

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and it's one of the worse in over a decade. this fire continues to burn. >> the main concern is a major change in the wind that could blow the flames into new areas. possible republican presidential candidate, mike huckabee huckabee, said he misspoke about president obama's childhood. he said that his world view was shaped by his childhood in kenya. he was born in hawaii and grew up in indonesia. on capitol hill, the house has passed a short-term spending plan that's meant to avert a shutdown of the federal government. the plan that authorizes $4 million in spending is likely to be approved by today. it keeps the government running for two weeks, giving lawmakers and the white house time to work out a long-term deal. we're learning about details about the corruption that prosecutors say went on in the city of bell california. the justice department said that police were in on the scam

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charging drivers $2,000 to get their towed cars back. they made $1 million impounding cars in 2008. and the former police chief who has not been charged, made $400,000 a year in salary. chicken little was right. the sky was falling, in chicago, at least. chunks of ice fell from skyscrapers yesterday, including from the city's tallest, the former sears tower. two people were injured, one seriously. the danger also closed the streets for most of the day. >> good thing they closed it. that looks incredibly dangerous there. >> here in new york, too. the ice falling from large buildings. you wouldn't realize unless you live around large buildings. let's look around the rest of the country. quiet for the pacific northwest. battered with heavy rain and strong winds. the rain stretches south to san francisco. and an arctic blast from canada moves from the upper midwest into the northeast. bringing snow from the adirondacks tall way to maine.

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>> a bit way warmer for us in the east. 57 in atlanta. a big drop in the upper midwest and great lakes. just 5 degrees in fargo. 29 in chicago. and still cool out west. just 62 in l.a. well coming up a big boost for american automakers coming off one of their best months in years. and this is how most of us remember that vw bus. well, we'll show you its whole, new look. and police at charlie sheen's home overnight. we'll have the latest on this. that's coming next. [ computerized voice ] do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? [ beep ] ♪ ♪

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♪ ♪ [ beep ] [ whirring ] [ sighs ] [ male announcer ] when did customer service go from above and beyond to just under and short? the world seems to be moving in one direction. we decided not to follow.

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as we mentioned earlier, the unrest in libya and other countries in the region is sending oil prices soaring again. oil is back above $100 a gallon this morning. there is concern about rising demand after a new report showed u.s. supplies unexpectedly dropped last week. the oil prices are dragging down stocks this morning. tokyo's nikkei average plunged about 2.5%. hong kong's hang seng fell 1.5%. and in london the ftse opened lower. on wall street, the dow tumbled 168 points yesterday. the nasdaq index fell nearly 45. well women are better educated than ever before. but they're still unable to close the pay gap with men. a comprehensive new report from the white house finds women on average earn 80% of what men make. one reason appears to be that women do not push as hard as men in salary negotiations. auto sales got a big boost

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in february, thanks to new incentives and the economic recovery. overall, sales were up 27%, with all the major companies posting double-digit gains. general motors had the best month, with its sales surging to 49%. a surging 49%. ford was up 10%. and chrysler rose 13%. good news for hippies out there. volkswagen is resurrecting its iconic microbus. at this week's auto show, vw is showing off a concept version of the van. it seats six. and features some updates for the age. an electric motor and an ipad. climate control and other functions. news my dad will be happy to hear. he still has our vw bus. >> very cool. nice stuff. next on this wednesday, charlie sheen isn't the only celebrity to distinguish himself in the past few days. from a designer's rant to a pop star's arrest. all right. and drop and give me ten. could you pass the army's

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so i just have one question for you. are you eating quaker for breakfast? good morning everyone. here are your morning road conditions. snow on i-95 in northern maine. rain on i-95 from miami to west palm florida. out west watch out on i-5, from sacramento to seattle. and on i-80 from san francisco to reno. on i-15, from montana to salt lake city. >> mostly clear skies for flying today. but you can expect airport delays in seattle, san francisco and miami. well, more drama for charlie sheen. police were called to his house late last night, after his former wife showed up to check on their kids. >> if you haven't heard, sheen opened a twitter account yesterday. and within hours he had 600,000 followers. but he's not the only celebrity to have made headlines in the past 48 hours.

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chris connelly has the story. >> reporter: metaphorically today saw charlie sheen welcoming some new passengers on to the s.s. celebrity ship wreck, like john galliano shown the door for this rant in a pa parisian restaurant. >> people like you would be dead. your mothers and fore fathers would be [ bleep ] gassed. >> reporter: national anthem challenged christina aguilera capping an is she okay 2011, with an arrest for duncanness. and the two women sheen revealed as his goddesses, the ex-nanny and the porn star. >> they're an international sensation. these are my girlfriends. these are the women i love that complete the three parts of my

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heart. >> reporter: since sheen's estimated $1.2 million an episode take home from "two and a half men" -- >> oh, man. she's not wearing any underwear. >> reporter: as given him a money pile high enough to say whatever he thinks and do whatever he wants. with whomever he wants. including them. >> i have the wedge. >> what's the wedge again? >> the wedge is natty, rachel and myself. the wage is a porn star. you have a drug addict a pothead and a porn star. what more could a guy want? >> charlie has all the money in the world. now, he's got a lot of time. >> reporter: will charlie sheen work again? where he's repentant or relentless, the answer is yes. he's made other people in hollywood a lot of money. >> i put $500 million in chuck's pocket. and these are the actual facts. numbers don't lie. i would ask them why does

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nobody got my back? >> reporter: i'm chris connelly in los angeles. opening arguments continued today in the manslaughter trial of the well-known self-help guru. james ray is charged in connection with the deaths of three people during a sweat lodge ceremony in arizona. prosecutors say the three victims remained in the inclosure to prove to ray they were fully committed to the exercise. the trial is expected to last four months. meanwhile, bacteria that causes a disease, was found at the playboy mention. the bacteria was discovered in a water source of the famous residence of hugh hefner. other possibly causes for the illnesses are being investigated. bristol palin has signed a book deal. according to her publisher, the 20-year-old single mom will provide an inside look at her life. palin's childhood in alaska. also, her appearance on abc's "dancing with the stars" will be

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included in the book. the nation's soldiers are facing tough, new physical requirements inspired by battlefield changes. every soldier will have to run on a balance beam with 2 30-pound canisters of ammunition. and vault over obstacles all while carrying a rifle. soldiers who have done the test say it was challenging, even for combat veterans. >> you could do that. i couldn't do that. you're all over that one. now, for what some other really fit guys are up to especially last night hoop highlights. espn news. >> good morning. cole wright here for espn news highlights. we're headed to game four of the knicks and the carmelo anthony era. knicks up. until melo drilled that triple. that made it a ten-point affair. we move to the fourth. orlando, within one. dwight howard making it happen. magic back in control. howard had 30 in this one. five minutes to play, jameer

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nelson nelson, count it. he had 26 points 14 in the fourth quarter. the magic win 116-110. kobe bryant and the lakers taking on the timberwolves. black mamba, doing his thing as he always do. bryant, putting someone in the post. lakers down by a pair. two minutes later lake show up up two. late in the fourth lakers lamar odom by kevin love for the lay-in. finger roll. come and get it. with a minute left to play lakers by eight. bryant fading away. lakers win, 90-79, your final count. number 20 vandy and number 23, kentucky. how about that for an s.e.c. showdown? coach cal undefeated at home this season. miller, the drive, the lay-in and go. under five in this one. terence jones, traveling in the near corner. oh. his hands on his head. that's all he can do.

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last chance for vandy. in the post. steps out of bounds. kentucky wins. that's going to do it for us. for the latest be sure to check out "the highlight express," on espn news. i'm cole wright. back to you in new york. all right. meet the newest new york city immigrants. 12 chihuahuas newly arrived on an airlift from san francisco animal shelters. >> they're always shivering. the west coast apparently has a surplus of the little dogs. and new yorkers are eager to adopt them. celebrities like paris hilton have made chihuahua's the most popular purse pup. >> you would think they would be warmer from owl the hot sauce from taco bell. >> you don't want to keep a dog in your purse. that's a bad idea. coming up next which hollywood legend will tell congress he's a victim of elder abuse? plus, awaiting today's big announcement from apple. "heroes" are only in movies consider this: over 70% of firefighters are local volunteers... these are our

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all five symptoms... of winter skin in just one day. discover the beauty and comfort of skin relief. only from aveeno. now, a look ahead to the stories that we'll be watching this wednesday. the crisis in libya is likely to be on the agenda when president obama meets with the secretary of state clinton behind closed doors today. clinton has warned about the possibility of a long civil war in the country. the senate is expected to pass a short-term spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. the bill keeping the government operating for two weeks. and cuts $4 billion in spending. at the white house the president awards 20 americans

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with medals in the arts and humanities including meryl streep and james taylor. mickey rooney takes a serious turn on capitol hill today, before a senate committee looking into abuse of the elderly. the 90-year-old actor revealed that he suffered abuse at the hands of his stepson. two astronauts from the crew of the shuttle "discovery" head out on the international space station today for the second of their mission's two, scheduled spacewalks. they'll be doing routine maintenance on the decade-old station. and apple holds a special event in san francisco where it is expected to unveil the new ipad. ipad 2 rumored features include better cameras, a bigger screen and sleeker design. apple ceo, steve jobs, is reportedly expected to make an appearance. >> have to simmer down now about that. looking forward to that. coming up later on "good morning america," what happens when you're not smarter than fifth graders? there's a new university to help parents who are stumped by their

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finally, a new baseball season, one that was actually in doubt, for a california high school player. >> he suffered a horrific injury last year and was near death. but now, he's back on the field. >> kgo's wayne freedman reports from castro valley california. >> reporter: renewed hope optimism. we hear those words every baseball season. but they never may be more fitting than for gunner sandberg. and for his team's first game of the year, we may offer another word, miracle. it took just one pitch and one line drive off a metal bat to nearly kill him last year. gunner spent weeks in a coma fighting for his life. while marin catholic high school and the baseball world rallied around him. the road back has not been easy. >> it's a lot harder now because my memory. i can't remember what's going on in school too much.

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but i'm doing pretty well. >> reporter: comebackers have always been a part of baseball at all levels. but aluminum bats have a larger sweet spot, which increases the odds of a hot shot doing damage. this year, thanks to gunnar's injury, two states have switched to less dangerous bats. they may still be made out of metal. but they won't hit like the old ones. >> we hope they're deadened enough to replicate the performance of wood bats. >> reporter: gunnar sandberg just wants to be normal and graduate with his class this june. having granted that one national interview, his father asked for privacy and normalcy. along with the other rites of spring. >> gunnar sandberg. >> reporter: they would include his first, official at-bat of the year. gunnar sandberg bunted making a close out at first. but he's in. and he's back. and baseball is just a game again. from